India is home to 18% of the world’s population and accounts for over 7% of global GDP (PPP adjusted). As such it is an obvious country to target for any government looking to do trade deals.
Add in the close familial, commercial, linguistic and legal ties that exist between India and UK and it becomes clear why such a high priority is being given by the UK government to trade with the country.
However, despite huge strides towards opening up its economy having been made in the last three decades, India still has a reputation as a challenging market in which to do business, with many restrictive practices and domestic protections in place.
A trade deal or an economic partnership agreement with the UK will aim to tackle some of those barriers.
IOE&IT member responses
The government has launched a consultation in advance of opening negotiations later in the year. The Institute of Export & International Trade intends to respond to the consultation on behalf of its members.
To be confident that we are representing out members views and priorities accurately, we are appealing for input two key areas: priorities and bureaucratic barriers.
Let us know your views about these two key areas for UK-India trade by completing this one-minute survey.